Kryptonian
The Kryptonians were an isolated race of sentient beings possessing vast technology and a unique biology. Hailing from the planet Krypton, they rose amidst impossible odds in a harsh world where death was everywhere. Despite the considerable challenge, they came to be the dominant species in their star system before regressing back to living only on their homeworld. The Kryptonians experienced several disasters throughout their history, though withstood every one of them by altering their society and advancing in technology, slowly becoming a more cold and logical species that lost its touch of empathy. The entire race was wiped out when their home planet Krypton exploded, though one survivor was sent away just before its destruction, and a number of others potentially live on in captivity. History Genisis The Kryptonians arose after the extinction-level event caused by Bertron's experiment, The Ultimate. When the experiment disappeared, life slowly crawled its way back up, among them the humanoid looking Kryptonians. The Kryptonians developed into sentience, and used their gift of intelligence much like Man on Earth: using tools and knowledge to their advantage, adapting to the harsh environment of their planet and withstanding the fierce predators that hunted them, before they became equal to the creatures that sought to kill them. Seeking to make their world a better place for life, the Kryptonians dedicated themselves to establishing peace, something Krypton had never known, by raising themselves as the dominant race through use of advanced technology and preserving all forms of life on their world. Through the next several thousand years of meticulate work, progress was made as the Kryptonians became incredibly advanced and purged Krypton of the most hostile creatures, adapting to live with some of the others, and establishing safe zones to allow even the weakest to thrive. Life became diverse, and with the Kryptonians watching over, their planet became a beacon of hope for life in the worst places. Golden Age of Krypton By this point, Krypton had developed scientific advancements far beyond those of present-day Earth, including medicine, allowing them to conquer disease and prolong their aging to an incredible degree. All Kryptonians were now effectively immortal, "with all the strength and vigor of youth maintained," and for millennia they enjoyed an idyllic, sensual existence in an Arcadian paradise. They considered themselves genetically perfect, and forbade any alteration to themselves as they saw it unnecessary. When Krypton developed space flight, its people slowly developed their society into an expanding empire. They began colonizing the moons and planets within their star system, setting their eyes on potential societies in interstellar space. However, before they could do so they encountered a threat known as the Eradicator. The Eradicator, seeing the imperial development of Krypton, punished its people by altering their genetic code, causing them to quickly die if they departed their home planet; this resulted in all of the explorers and colonists dying out, and the Eradicator left Krypton alone after this. The people of Krypton, shaken in that their first encounter with alien life forced them to remain on their planet, reformed into an isolationist society that banned any travel from the planet or any attempts to communicate with anything outside. Krypton Clone Wars After banning travel beyond Krypton, the Kryptonians discovered that their genes were corrupt thanks to the Eradicator's tampering; even having isolated themselves, the Kryptonians experienced this punishment and were doomed to extinction. A great debate errupted as to the next course of action which would begin a mass regression of their people. Many Kryptonians widely believed they could withstand this through sheer work alone, holding hope in their technological advancement that they could apply their scientific and medical knowledge to restore their genes and enable the current generation of Krypton to survive. However, a bold argument came up that suggested development of some "cure" was insufficient, that the current Kryptonian gene was damaged beyond restoration, and that more drastic measures must be taken to preserve their species. Dismissing the prospect that Kryptonians were absolutely perfect, this idea involved tampering with the Kryptonian gene directly and editing out the corrupted coding, artificially controlling the next generation to have the corruption eliminated while the previous, "tainted" generation were allowed to die out. This method sparked controversy, but won a lot of support as Krypton became desperate to do whatever was necessary to survive. Tempers flared to the point of conflict, spiraling into open war as the Kryptonians took arms against each other. This event is remembered as the Krypton Clone Wars, and was a terrible event that brought out the worst in the Kryptonians; weapons received as much effort in development as medicine, as both sides saw each other as savage and could not coexist with the other. One of these weapons was the Destroyer, which could have a wide impact across the planet itself. The Destroyer was used, causing widespread death and destruction with only a single activation that swiftly brought an end to the Krypton Clone Wars. The traditional side surrendered, relenting to the new prospect of genetic tampering; artificial population control was established, as Kryptonian DNA was finally cleared to be worked so the corruption could be removed. The remaining Golden-Age Kryptonians were killed off deliberately against their will, as it was argued the Eradicator's corrpution would be an agonizing way to die, so a swift execution would be preferable. Due to the effects of this war, a great deal of Krypton's precious natural resources were destroyed, and their race sufferred huge casualties as a result of the fighting, the use of the Destroyer, and the processing of genetic alteration and establishment of artificial growth. The new generation of Kryptonians were forced to rely on using what resources the Planet had left as the damages to their world were too grave to fix before they would run out. As Krypton became devoid of life and desolate as it once was in ancient history, the Kryptonians used their advanced technology to establish safe zones where life could continue to live. Braniac Invasion Shortly after the Clone Wars, a new threat to the planet's inhabitants arrived in the form of an alien invasion; a hyper-intelligent, technologically advanced megamind calling himself Brainiac. When the planet was weak from its Clone Wars, he captured the capital city of Kandor, miniaturizing it in his spaceship. An elite military unit called Black Zero was entirely eradicated in an effort to defend the city of Kandor, save for one survivor, Ursa. Brainiac took his captured city and departed the star system in search of other intelligent life to catalog. This alien invasion further constricted Krypton's isolationism. The Kryptonians relocated their capital and moved to strengthening their military might in preparation of another alien invasion, further depleting more of their natural resources to a critical level. They reorganized their society into a tightly restricted caste system, ruled by a council system that oversaw the developments made by the military, science, and labor systems, among others. Having almost entirely depleted the planet's natural resources, the desperate Kryptonians were driven to extensive, careless mining of Krypton's interior. Heading to Extinction It was during this time that many of Krypton's more prominent figures came into play. Jor-El, a scientist, would be the one to discover Krypton's ongoing destabilization and eventually realize the planet was on the verge of destruction. He would marry a member of the labor caste, Lara Lor-Van, and became acquainted with Zod, a member of the military caste. Though friends for a great time, the two grew apart and distrusted one another as Zod's rise in the ranks saw the development of his ego and ambition to assert dominion over the council and reform Krypton into a more militaristic society, inspired by his ancestor's part in Krypton's former empire. Previously, the penal system of the planet Krypton sentenced their criminals by placing them in suspended animation. Jor-El discovered the existence of the Phantom Zone and introduced it as an alternative means of imprisonment. He had little knowledge of the true inner workings of the zone but believed that it was a more humane form of punishment over that which they had previously employed. He developed a projection device that could send and retrieve people into the zone with the simple flick of a switch. The first prisoner to be exiled to the Phantom Zone was the renegade scientist Jax-Ur. Jax-Ur, a former colleague of Jor-El's, was responsible for destroying one of Krypton's two moons during an attempt at interstellar space travel. General Zod's Coup Eventually, Krypton would enter its last days as the planet further destabilized to a critical point. Jor-El discovered within a short time, the planet would likely collapse and explode, preparing a plan to construct a fleet of ships and initiate a mass evacuation before Krypton was destroyed. Presenting his thesis to the Science guild, Jor-El was ignored, believed to be rash and crazy. Going directly to the council after this, he was dismissed under notion of attempting to cause mass panic in Krypton's people. Unable to convince his associates to abandon tradition and consider escape, and reasoning that modern Kryptonian society had grown cold, unfeeling and sterile, Jor-El lost faith in his generation of Krypton and secretly rebelled to ensure the preservation of his race; together with his wife Lara, he fathered a natural born son, keeping him hidden from society. As Jor-El made his preparations, General Zod rebelled against the Council in open war, murdering several members in an effort to seize control over the planet and save Krypton in his own way. He and his followers were apprehended, with Jor-El personally defeating Zod in hand-to-hand combat; Jor-El then sentenced Zod and his subordonates to the Phantom Zone for treason. With little time left, Jor-El placed his son, Kal of the House of El, in a small starship privately built by him in isolation. The ship was launched, with Kal and a few artifacts, mere moments before the planet experienced critical pressure and exploded, killing everyone on Krypton. Extinction As Krypton had made space travel and exploration illegal long ago, no Kryptonian had left the planet and survived its destruction. The only potential survivors could be the prisoners held within the Phantom Zone, as it is another dimensional plane, or the captives held within Kandor currently contained in Braniac's hold. Only Kal-El survived Krypton's destruction directly. Appearance The Kryptonian body structure is identical to that of Humans. Physically, they resemble Humans in great detail, with their internal body structure being quite similar and even their Genetic structure having relative closeness in build to Humanity. They generally stand between 5 to 6 ft tall, with occasional outliers between 4 to 7 ft, and have the same appearance of one head with four limbs (a pair of arms and legs) as Humans, even possessing a hide with similar appearance to human skin in color and texture. Kryptonian faces have two eyes of varying color between blue, green, gray and brown, with one nose, one mouth, and two ears. They also grow hair mostly on their head but also across their bodies in lesser quantities, just as Humans do. Characteristics Interestingly, Kryptonians outwardly appear almost exactly like Humans, with even some of their internal structure matching that of Humans. However, they possess a couple of unique quirks to their internal structure, and their biology is uniquely developed thanks to their evolution and adaptation on the harsh planet of Krypton. This gives them several potential superhuman abilities. Physicality Kryptonians are built similar to Humans, with an almost exact lookalike skeletal system and most of the organs and body systems being the same. Their physical abilities, depending on their energy stores, can vary from being similar to beyond Human levels. Krypton possessed a higher gravity than Earth, with a polluted atmosphere thick with particulates and little Solar Energy bathing the planet's surface; Kryptonians specifically adapted to living in these conditions, and with the right genetic alteration, physical adaptation to gravity and processing the little Solar Energy of Rao, Kryptonians had the same baseline physical traits as Humans on Earth. Solar Energy One of the unique traits of Kryptonian biology is their ability to process and metabolize stellar radiation as fuel for a wide array of superhuman powers. The cells of Kryptonians can store Solar Energy and function like a super battery, hyper metabolizing specific wavelengths of radiation as fuel to enable living functions and/or superhuman abilities. Different wavelengths of radiation have different effects on Kryptonian physiology and well being. *Red Solar Energy: Bathed in the light of a Red Star, such as their home star Rao while on Krypton, Kryptonians process enough Solar Energy to have equal physicality and abilities to baseline Humans, having standard levels of strength and endurance with no access to higher superpowers. *Yellow Solar Energy: Bathed in the light of a Yellow Star, such as the Sun while on Earth, Kryptonians process a much greater amount of Solar Energy that grants them superior physicality and access to a number of powers, making them far above baseline Humans. Enhanced Physicality With properly metabolized Solar Energy in their bodies, Kryptonians gain enhancements to all of their physical traits. *Strength: Kryptonians are super strong in comparison to Humans, easily able to lift cars, rubble, break through concrete, make enormous leaps, and physically overpower strong foes even with limited light exposure. *Speed: Kryptonians are super fast, able to make bursts of speed or run and move at speeds faster than the human eye can track. *Invulnerability: Kryptonians become incredibly durable, the Solar Energy stored in their cells combined with a bioelectric aura making them immensely hardened and their flesh super densely tough, essentially granting them invulnerability to all means of bodily harm. *Regeneration: If a Kryptonian is injured or hurt in any way that bypasses their invulnerability, exposure to Yellow Sunlight can charge their biology and boost their regeneration to heal any wounds they may have received. *Reflexes: Kryptonians can react at much higher speeds than Humans, making it seem like they're several steps ahead of others. *Stamina: Kryptonian stamina lasts much longer under the light of a Yellow Sun, charging them with energy they can metabolize to keep them going for a virtually unlimited period. Enhanced Senses Solar-charged Kryptonians receive boosts to all of their sensory abilities. *Telescopic Sight: Kryptonians can observe locations, objects, and other details from an incredibly far distance away. *Microscopic Sight: Kryptonians can observe minute details on tiny objects with great clarity. *Electromagnetic Sight: Kryptonians can alter the perception of their vision to filter throughout the Electromagnetic Spectrum, granting Infrared Vision, Ultraviolet Vision, and X-Ray Vision among others. Their X-Ray Vision can see through any substance except for Lead. *Hearing: Kryptonian hearing becomes empowered to not only hear very soft sounds, but can pick them up from very far away, and can hear multiple conflicting sounds at once in every detail. Flight Through the use of their High-Gravity adaptation and manipulating their Bioelectric aura, Kryptonians can levitate in one place or propel themselves through the air in self-powered flight at great speeds. Enhanced Breath Kryptonians can utilize their great strength and durability to inhale huge quantities of air to create a virtual vacuum. They can store it for purposes of maintaining an extremely long breath hold while traversing underwater or through space, or exhale it with great force equivalent to hurricane-level wind. By pressurizing the wind with their lips, a unique effect is applied that supercools the air and lets them use their breath to freeze objects. Heat Vision Kryptonians can convert the stores of Solar Energy within their cells to be directly applied to their eyes, where they can release a pair of parallel heat beams. These Heat Beams can be altered to have varying output, from barely visible waves of heat to warm objects slowly to highly intensified and brightly visible cutting beams of fiery heat with great explosive force. Solar Flare Kryptonians are capable of charging and releasing all of their stored Solar Energy at once in an all-round pulse, generating a spherical explosion of intense light and heat. This is excruciatingly painful as it fully depletes their metabolized energy, and leaves them vulnerable for a considerable time as they will need to reprocess new Solar Energy in order to replenish their powers. Weaknesses *Red Solar Energy: Kryptonian powers rely on charging with Solar Energy. Should they be exposed to lesser-powered starlight such as radiation given off of Red Stars, Kryptonian cells process less energy and thus limits their time to access their higher abilities before they are rendered as weak as Humans, losing their powers. *Nuclear Energy: If a Kryptonian is exposed to the effects of a Nuclear Weapon, they won't necessarily be destroyed outright by the blast but they are vulnerable to the harmful effects of its radiation. As their bodies metabolize radiation for fuel, processing the energy from a Nuclear Blast is harmful to the Kryptonian and can weaken them to a significant degree. Gallery Trivia *While several Kryptonians have indeed survived Krypton's destruction, Kal-El is the only active survivor on Earth. The rest are either trapped in confinement within the Phantom Zone, or are similarly trapped in confinement aboard Brainiac's ship. They would need to be freed before they can be accessed. *Kal-El is Kryptonian in biology and exhibits the enhanced powers under Earth's yellow sun; however, he remains in hiding on Earth, only recently revealing himself to the public and is not known as an alien to Humanity yet. *No events have been shown so far, but the substance created with Krypton's destruction has a unique harmful effect on Kryptonians. It actively emits radiation that breaks down Solar Energy stored within Kryptonian cells, immediately depriving them of their super powers and causing physical agony and paralysis. Kryptonians could resist the paralysis with sheer will, but can barely move slowly at all and cannot ignore the incredible pain or the loss of energy. Prolonged exposure will kill them, though a quicker death can be applied by using the substance as a weapon to kill them in a conventional manner.